We took our first proper trip of 2019 to the foodie region of Emilia-Romagna in central Italy. Our base was the city of Bologna which has two American-Italian food faves named after it: Spaghetti Bolognese and Baloney. Outside of sharing many meals together (a Valentine Day trip classic), we also made stops at the nearby towns of Parma and Ravenna and highly recommend visiting them both. Here is a quickfire post with photos of recommended sightseeing and food!

Bologna

Base AirBnb: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/16849804 | £25 off AirBnb referral link

There are many cheap flights to Bologna and the public transport hub status was very helpful to us personally. Beautiful and very walkable town, loads of amazing food and wine bars. The city by itself is a self-sufficient foodie stop as you can get Mortadella, Balsamic, Parma Crudo, etc from within the city (we recommend visiting Simoni Laboratorio for the same). It’s University is the oldest in Europe! Quadrilateralo and the surrounding regions are pretty but we recommend finding meals outside that area.

Basilica Santo Stefano, one of Bologna’s best

Food

Clockwise from top-left: A huge and filling salad centred around Pugliese Burrata at Osteria Del Cirmolo, Tortellini en Brodo made by nonnas from Pasta Fresca Naldi, beef carpaccio main and stunning real Tiramisu at Broccaindosso. All highly typical of the region and recommended eats.

Parma

We went for the food and came back impressed by the architecture and how lovely the old town is. Highly recommend visiting the Duomo area of Parma to get views like the one below. Do go inside the cathedrals to get a fascinating look at some distinctive art and architecture.

The myriad views in Parma

Food

Pepen is home to the best sandwich in the world. It’s Parma ham sandwich, piled high with top quality local ham (obviously) with cheese and mustard costs only 6 EUR and it is foodporn. The place is always buzzing and it runs out of the daily special before the afternoon break hits so do not be put off by the crowd and help yourself to one.

All that delicious Parma Crudo for just 6 EUR

Ravenna

Have you visited Istanbul, saw the Hagia Sofia and the Christian mosaics and wondered why none of the European cathedrals have similar mosaics painted within? Multiple answers to this question can be seen in Ravenna which boasts of cathedrals and murals date back to the 6th Century. Follow the Mosaic trail, starring the Basilica di San Vitale, around the city for a combined ticket price of 9.5EUR and take in the spectacular views with a Piadina break in between.

A slice of the interiors of the World Heritage Basilica

Conclusion

Italy has been one of our preferred destinations over the last couple of years and we cannot get enough. Its regions have much to offer and for foodies like us, Emilia Romagna is one of the very best places in the world to spend a long weekend in. Can’t wait to write the full blogpost! (the paucity of time is killing us)